Day two of Tbilisi protests: citizens replace political figures in peaceful rally

Citizens who gathered for the second consecutive day in front of the Parliament in Georgia wore accessories and displayed signs related to the occupation and the treatment of protesters from the police the previous night. Here participants wear eye bands as signs of their protest of the law enforcement's use of rubber bullets that caused injuries on June 20, and the fact of the occupation of 20 percent of Georgian territory by Russian troops. Photo: Nino Alavidze/agenda.ge.

Young demonstrators pictured in front of the parliament, with the Georgian Museum of Fine Arts in the background, on the evening of June 21. Photo: Nino Alavidze/agenda.ge.

Messages directed against the policy of the Kremlin in relation to Georgia were brought to the rally as the discontent with the June 20 appearance of Russian Duma MP Sergey Gavrilov in the chair of the Speaker of the Parliament of Georgia transformed into a general expression of anger with the occupation. Photo: Nino Alavidze/agenda.ge.

Protesters make their feelings about Russian president Vladimir Putin known on the Rustaveli Avenue on Friday, as a younger crowd gathered on the street on the second day of demonstrations. The average age of rally participants on June 21 was around 20. Photo: Nino Alavidze/agenda.ge.

A view on the crowd in front of the Parliament of Georgia. Thousands were present in the location on both days of protests. Photo: Nino Alavidze/agenda.ge.

A young citizen is wearing an improvised gas mask with the word "Georgia" and the country's national flag drawn on it. Law enforcers used tear gas during clashes the previous night. Photo: Nino Alavidze/agenda.ge.

A full gas mask is used by a participant of the demonstration. The second day of rallying was peaceful compared to the recurring confrontation between protesters and riot police on Thursday night and resulting injuries on both sides. Photo: Nino Alavidze/agenda.ge.

The two days of rallies followed initial smaller-sized protests in the noon on Thursday, when political opposition and citizens demanded repercussions for the government for letting a Russian MP speak from the tribune in the Georgian lawmaking body. Photo: Nino Alavidze/agenda.ge.

Banners with messages berating both the ruling party and the political figures from the opposition who stoked anger on Thursday are displayed on the second day of events in Tbilisi. Photo: Nino Alavidze/agenda.ge.

Unlike the first day of protests, June 21 rallies featured much less participation of political leaders of the opposition, and more emphasis from common citizens and youth. Photo: Nino Alavidze/agenda.ge.

Protesters expressed their anger at seeing a Russian State Duma MP speak from the Georgian parliament speaker's chair as Abkhazia and Tskhinvali (South Ossetia), two Georgian regions, are occupied by the Russian military. Photo: Nino Alavidze/agenda.ge.

Police in riot gear are photographed in front of the parliament building on Friday. Photo: Nino Alavidze/agenda.ge.

Citizen demonstrators display their hands in response to messages voiced on Rustaveli Avenue in Tbilisi on June 21. Photo: Nino Alavidze/agenda.ge.

Messages ranging from criticism of the opposition United National Movement party to general slogans of protest are displayed atop a monument paying homage to Georgian civilians killed in 1989 by Soviet troops during a peaceful demonstration on Rustaveli Avenue. Photo: Nino Alavidze/agenda.ge.

The evening of June 21 turns into nighttime in front of the parliament building in the Georgian capital, as citizens keep protesting in full force. Photo: Nino Alavidze/agenda.ge.

The protesting citizens are seen through smartphone screen. Government officials voiced their support for messages against the occupation of the country, with reactions from the Russian government blamed "radicals" for the events in Tbilisi. Photo: Nino Alavidze/agenda.ge.

Most of the messages and drawings displayed at the demonstration were aimed at the occupying forces of the Russian military and Putin. Photo: Nino Alavidze/agenda.ge.

A young participant is seen with a shirt bearing a message condemning the presence of Russian troops in Abkhazia and Tskhinvali (South Ossetia) and their erecting of barbed wire administrative boundaries separating Georgian-controlled territory from the two regions. Photo: Nino Alavidze/agenda.ge.

Two banners displayed in front of the lawmaking body in Tbilisi are aimed to show the resolve of the demonstrators following police's use of tear gas during the previous night. Photo: Nino Alavidze/agenda.ge.

The June 21 rally was peacefully dissolved after participants voiced their messages without featuring political figures of the opposition. Photo: Nino Alavidze/agenda.ge.

A police vehicle passes through demonstrators on Rustaveli Avenue on Friday. There were no violent clashes between protesters and riot police during the evening and early night of the rallies on the second day. Photo: Nino Alavidze/agenda.ge.